April 2018 Meeting: Martha Masters

Wednesday, April 4, 2018, at 7:00 PM

Manhattan Theatre Club Creative Center, 311 West 43rd Street, 8th floor

Learning a new piece: Bach’s Chaconne as an example
Martha Masters will discuss how to approach learning a new piece, using Bach’s Chaconne as a working example. The discussion will consider, in brief, the importance of historical context, challenges of transcriptions, overcoming technical challenges, and incorporating interpretive choices as an essential and fundamental part of the process.

The presentation will be followed by our Open Mic. Sign up in advance to play — see the Member Events page for details. NYCCGS Member Events are free and open to all members and first-time guests, and are supported by a generous grant from the D’Addario Foundation.


Martha Masters first achieved international recognition in 2000 when she won first prize in the Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition. That same year she also won the Andres Segovia International Competition in Linares, Spain, and was named a finalist in the Alexandre Tansman International Competition of Musical Personalities in Lodz, Poland.

Since then, Ms. Masters has been active as a solo recitalist, chamber musician and concerto soloist around the world. Recent seasons included appearances at festivals and on concert series through the United States, Germany, Poland, Russia, and China.

Masters received both the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with Manuel Barrueco, and completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Southern California as a student of Scott Tennant.

Ms. Masters is currently on the guitar faculty of Loyola Marymount University and California State University Fullerton, and is president of the Guitar Foundation of America. She has five recordings on the Naxos and GSP labels, and has published books three books with Mel Bay Publications and Alfred Music.